Several days of rainfall, combined with a spring thaw, have left many areas of Bay County soaked and soggy.

"I haven't seen this in years," Kaunitz said of the water pooled next door. "One day it's bright and sunny, and the next day it's gloom's day."

High winds that kicked up overnight and a favorable weather forecast should help to dry things out in the next few days.

The National Weather Service had issued a high-wind warning effective until 4 p.m. today, predicting gusts reaching 60 mph. The wind will subside below 35 mph this afternoon, the agency said.

Dan Staudacher | Times PhotoAustin Hamme, 14, left, and Kevin Whaler, 12, slosh through the standing water behind Hamme's home on Fairlane Drive in Bangor Township.

The windy weather wasn't causing any power outages for Bay County customers of Consumers Energy, according to Dan Bishop, a spokesman for the company.

"The absence of leaves allows the wind to pass through trees, and there was an absence of lightning," he said.

Consumers had 4,000 outages statewide as of this morning, but none in Bay County and only a handful in Saginaw and Midland counties, he said.

The Weather Service forecasts the next chance of rain and snow showers will occur on Sunday.

"We could use a break," said Bill Deedler, a forecaster with the National Weather Service office in Pontiac.

"The ground is partially frozen and soaked with snow melt, so it's not surprising everything is a mud hole," Deedler said.

Dan Staudacher | Times PhotoA house on Euclid Road is reflected in the pond that's formed on the lawn.

About 1.3 inches of rain fell in the region from March 1 to March 9. The normal for the entire month is 3 inches, Deedler said.

All the snow melt and rainfall resulted in a flood warning for low-lying areas around the Saginaw River in Saginaw County, he said. There, the river is at its 17-foot flood stage and expected to climb another half foot before receding.

In Bay County, the Saginaw River is high, but not at flood stage.

Joseph Rivet, Bay County drain commissioner, said the county's drainage system is functioning well.

The city of Pinconning pitched in earlier this week to partially clear a plugged drain on Fifth Street, where water threatened to top the road and head toward several homes and nearby Tubular Metal Systems, Rivet said.

Rivet said a new $1.5 million drainage project in Williams Township, near Auburn, appears to be working well.

HELP Restoration is a private company in Bay City that specializes in cleaning up flooded basements and other problems caused by Mother Nature. Their cleanup crews were keeping busy this week.

"We're getting calls on water and we've got a few jobs going right now," said Lynn Kaiser, HELP Restoration's office manager.

"And with the (high) wind, we've been doing roofing and siding repair," she said.

Deedler said low areas and those along some ditches will see the biggest water worries until the saturated ground begins to dry out.

Wet weather in February caused some flooding along the Kawkawlin River in Bangor Township when an ice jam blocked the water's flow. The river was high, but not flooding, on Tuesday.

Kaunitz says she welcomes the water's rise along the Kawkawlin, where she lives.

"I want it to rise up, otherwise our seawalls cave in," she said. "We have a bulge in our seawall right now."